


Chionophobia

by anaturalintrovert



Series: Ni No Kuni Fics [10]
Category: Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch (Video Game)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Festive fic, Gen, Holidays, Light Angst, Sledding, Snow Day, manna fic manna fic manna fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:00:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28324230
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anaturalintrovert/pseuds/anaturalintrovert
Summary: Oliver doesn’t like snow. It reminds him too much of manna.[not part of a gift exchange / secret santa!]
Relationships: Oliver & Mark | Philip
Series: Ni No Kuni Fics [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1899427
Comments: 4
Kudos: 24





	Chionophobia

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so I wrote this in one day, completely off the cuff might I add, because this idea will not stop pestering me. Also, I’ve yet to beat the post game and encounter manna but I do have vague memories from years back about manna and what it did, so I’ve been able to read fics about manna and write fics about manna. If anything’s inaccurate, that’s why. Enjoy!

Oliver didn’t like it.

He knew that he should like it. That he had liked it in the past. Winter was his favourite time of the year. He loved Christmas with every part of himself. He liked the fact that school was over. He loved breaking icicles off of windows and just looking at how pretty they were in his hand. Snowball fights, snowman building, snow angels, sledding down hills, he loved it all.

Well, he had loved it all.

Now all he could see was manna.

He had saved the world. He had resolved the issues. He could go back to doing as he pleased. He just couldn’t stomach the manna. How close it had been to destroying the people he held dear. His party had been lucky. If they hadn’t have been so lucky, he would have had to hurt them. Kill them.

He knew it was an irrational fear, but he didn’t want to hurt Phil or Myrtle or Leila or Denny or anyone else in Motorville. He’d hurt his mother and he had saved a world to forgive himself for it. He didn’t have the fight in him to save the world again to repent for his mistakes again. Oliver didn’t believe that he had the fight in him. He absolutely did - the kid had the heart of a lion - but he needed to rest. He needed to breathe.

He needed to keep the peace for a little longer. Manna would completely ruin that.

Motorville was iced over. Freezing. Snow lined every pathway. As he walked up to Phil’s garage, he noticed his friend covering their finest and safest automobile yet in plastic. “To keep out the ice,” Phil explained without turning around. “The yearly tradition in this house.”

Oliver had a single gift bag in his hands. He’d dropped the others off already, as Leila had asked him too. He’d left one on Myrtle’s doorstep and one at Denny’s place. He held it out to Phil, who was leaning against the covered vehicle at this point. Phil thanked Oliver but noticed how vacant his eyes looked. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Not particularly. At least Phil was safe under the cover of the garage. Oliver’s stomach filled with dread as his friend went to sit on an upturned paint bucket, putting on some thicker boots and tying the laces. “I’ll get the sled.”

Oliver knew where the sled was kept. It was under a bunch of boxes which he shifted around. He wanted to go sledding. He just didn’t like the snow. He wanted to have fun with his friends. He wanted to pretend like nothing was wrong.

But it was okay. It wasn’t snowing when Oliver left the garage. He could deal with the snow on the ground. So long as it wasn’t falling, he’d be okay. Phil would be okay, more importantly. Regardless, Oliver pulled up his blue hood. He was wearing the coat he had gotten from Yule (or, as he described it to others, “a gift from a faraway friend”). Phil wore a thick red raincoat with the hood down.

His hood was down. A hood would protect him a little from manna. That was Oliver’s first thought. He hated it, and Oliver didn’t hate many things.

By the time they got to the hill they were planning to sled down, snow still wasn’t falling. Maybe he could actually enjoy the day. Maybe he could get through the day without crying (and without being teased for crying).

“Ready, Ollie?”

And Oliver looked up to the top of the hill, stopping in his tracks and catching his breath from dragging the sled. “I think so.”

Phil noticed something wrong and, in his curious nature, questioned it. “What’s wrong?”

“Just reminds me of something. Don’t worry about it.”

“We’ll be good. I think.”

“You’re not very reassuring.” Oliver shook his head. “I’ll be okay.”

Phil cocked his head. “You keep saying that. Is the cold getting to you?”

“I’m just a little freaked out. I think it’s just everything that’s happened this year. It’s sort of... I can’t explain it.” Again, Oliver dismissed it. It was just in his nature to keep people from worrying. And besides, he wanted to keep Phil safe even though he knew that there was no danger. Irrationality was funny like that. Oliver was incredibly aware of how stupid his fear was but that awareness didn’t stop the anxiety.

So, despite his fears, he sledded.

He enjoyed himself for a good twenty minutes. He and Phil barrelled down the hill at top speeds and covered themselves in snow. Oliver wasn’t even afraid. Even when he was covered in snow, the chill gave him clarity. It was just snow. He was not a monster. Phil was fine. The world was okay.

There came a point where they were exhausted from the walking and the adrenaline. Well, Oliver wasn’t too exhausted since he had certainly dealt with worse, but Phil definitely needed a breather. He was more suited to cars than exercise.

They sat on the sled. It was a purple old thing that Phil had repainted countless times. It was scratched and rickety and probably hadn’t been safe to ride on, but it made for good chair. “We should get hot chocolate,” Phil suggested. “Everything’s better with hot chocolate.”

“We could bring some out here?” Oliver asked.

“All the way out here?”

“It’s pretty out here.”

“You were freaking out just a bit ago.”

“Yeah. I guess I was.” Oliver shrugged. “I feel better now though.”

Phil sighed. “I’ll be back in ten.”

Phil wasn’t about to trek from his house to the hill with two cups of hot chocolate. However, he did have two flasks and a very fine (and not to mention very safe) automobile. He wasn’t the sort to pass up some hot chocolate, so he put his cocoa making supplies in a bag and drove down. He took it slow and steady because Oliver would get upset if he didn’t.

Soon the two were drinking hot chocolate on the old sled. And, for the record, Phil had brought marshmallows.

“Was it the snow? Did you think we were gonna, I don’t know, slip and die or something?” Phil was periodically sipping from his hot drink, leaning back slightly.

“Kind of. It sounds stupid. I just didn’t want you guys to get hurt.”

Phil stood dramatically, throwing out his arms and nearly spilling his hot drink. “Look at me! I’m indestructible. And seeing how you dealt with everything this year threw at you, you’re pretty strong too. Don’t worry so much.”

Oliver laughed, hiding a tear or two. “Yeah. It was kind of stupid.”

“Eh. Stupid’s my middle name, so don’t be too hard on yourself.”

It was that little pep talk that made Oliver oddly calm when the snow fell later that night. He could close his curtains without even a single tear.


End file.
